The captain of Nigeria’s Super Eagles soccer team has called for an end to the online harassment directed at midfielder Alex Iwobi.
Following Nigeria’s 1-2 loss to Ivory Coast in the Afcon final on Sunday, some football fans have been targeting Iwobi on social media, holding him responsible for the defeat.
Iwobi participated in the match for 79 minutes before being substituted by Alhassan Yusuf. The backlash online prompted Iwobi to delete his Instagram photos on Monday.
Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa and other Nigerians have rallied to Iwobi’s defense, condemning the focused online attacks against him and emphasizing that singling him out for the team’s loss is unjust.
Musa, sharing his thoughts on X, formerly Twitter, urged fans to cease the cyberbullying directed at Iwobi.
“Dear fans, I want to please urge you to halt the cyber-bullying directed towards Alex Iwobi.”
He stressed that while losing a game is difficult, blaming a single player for the team’s shortcomings is unfair.
“Losing a game is undoubtedly tough, but targeting a single player for the team’s shortcomings is unfair and unjust. We win as a team, and we lose as a team. Alex gave his all on the field, just like every member of our squad,” he said.
As of now, Iwobi has not publicly responded to the online criticism directed at him.
Source-BBC
